Given the fact that it's the end of March and the temperature outside is -17C (with windchill -27C), maybe a hot rum toddy would be a better alternative. Just so long as it won't result in a rush to the bathroom as my municipal water line is frozen AGAIN (2nd time in 3 weeks - last time cost $784 to repair).

20 March, 2011

Murphy showed up at Mass one Sunday and the priest almost fell down when he saw him. He'd never been to church in his life.
After Mass, the priest caught up with him and said, "Murphy, I am so glad ya decided to come to Mass. What made ya come?"
Murphy said, "I got to be honest with you Father, a while back, I misplaced me hat and I really, really love that hat. I know that McGlynn had a hat just like mine and I knew he came to church every Sunday.. I also knew that he had to take off his hat during Mass and figured he would leave it in the back of church. So, I was going to leave after Communion and steal McGlynn's hat."
The priest said, "Well, Murphy, I notice that ya didn't steal McGlynn's hat. What changed your mind?"
Murphy replied, "Well, after I heard your sermon on the 10 Commandments, I decided that I didn't need to steal McGlynn's hat after all."
With a tear in his eye the priest gave Murphy a big smile and said; "After I talked about 'Thou Shalt Not Steal' ya decided you would rather do without your hat than burn in Hell?"

Murphy slowly shook his head. "No, Father, after ya talked about 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery' I remembered where I left me hat."

Please pray for this lad, Michael Pineau from our little town of Mattawa. He has been missing since Tuesday and his family is deeply distressed and worried.

Also, please pray for another lad from my neighboring parish, Luc Joly. He has been missing since last Saturday when he was seen leaving a bar in North Bay, Ontario. The news in this case is not looking good as the police have now transferred it to their criminal investigations unit.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, please bring these boys home to their mothers.

Talk about having your priorities screwed up! Harry Reid provides an almost perfect example. When pro-life politicians ask to have their concerns addressed in legislation such as Obamacare (which I support BTW even though I'm not an American - a country as rich as the USA should provide health care to its citizens) they are denounced as extremists who would destroy the country. Now with this statement from Reid it will be interesting to see if the same media which denounced Stupak and his fellow legislators offers the same type of denunciation for his threat to shit down the entire US government over his pro-choice stance. Probably not.

Now, if only we could have such a policy in Canada! I find myself complaining often to hospitals when I see patients being denied the basics of food and hydration in the terminal phase of their illness. Food and water should NEVER be considered extraordinary means of care no matter how close (or far) death appears to be. Even Catholic hospitals (such as our hospital here in Mattawa) use this horrid practice, despite the fact that the Church forbids it. Pro-lifers should recognize that this is happening and work to eliminate its use in Canada.

16 March, 2011

China... India... South Korea... the evidence is mounting that gender selection as a reason for abortions is HIGHLY DETRIMENTAL to woman's interests, at least when it comes to their demographic status. Please note that these studies are not coming from Catholic or Christian organizations. This one comes from a Canadian study.

Deep Magic: The “Physics” of Sacrifice

"An atheist blogger surprised me recently by quoting Hebrews: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” He was quoting it because for him it epitomized everything that’s wrong with Christianity: barbarism, illogic, insanity.On the one hand, I think he misunderstood the meaning of the phrase. He seemed to think that Christians might go around forgiving people by killing sheep, or cutting themselves like the priests of Baal.On the other hand, I think his horror was a reaction to something real, and was therefore a credit to him, since he intuitively saw something that we Christians sometimes miss: that love always costs. For the thoroughgoing atheist, the problem of suffering might eventually be solved by means of technology and an ingenious rearrangement of political systems. But the Christian knows that it takes blood."

This is an article about R. Seth Williams, the District Attorney in Philadelphia who has laid charges not only against some predator priests, but also against the diocesan official who did not remove them from ministry but simply moved them to other parishes (where they sadly found more victims to abuse). I note that he is a practicing Catholic and sees his actions as aiding the Church in ridding itself of these abusers and their enablers.

This is just one side effect of the attempts of either governments to limit population growth (eg:China's 'one child only' policy) or when parents are allowed to use gender as a selection criterion for abortion. Whether or not you believe in the morality of abortion, the prejudice against females by families who want only one child is becoming an issue that must be addressed.

It does however create a specific conundrum from those who support abortion as being solely a woman's right to choose. How could they support the prohibition of gender selection as a criterion for abortion when they do not hold that the unborn female child is actually a person?

This case has roiled within the pro-life community in Canada for months now. With Joseph's transfer to an American hospital, the drama shifts south of the border. Click on the link below to read the CNN take on this story. I also recommend this column from 'SoCon or Bust' to understand why it is that this story has been so prominent among the Canadian pro-life advocates. I may not agree with the tone and tenor of SoCon's argument, but the issues he raises are certainly worthy of consideration.

12 March, 2011

First it was the Catholic chapel at the university in Barcelona; now it's happening in Madrid. The only 'good news' in this latest incident is that the event was captured on video so that people will not be able to claim that Catholics are distorting or exaggerating these events.

OK, so we don't often hear that in our daily lives but it's a request I put before you today. Evidently the water line from the main on the street (600+ ft away from church) has frozen somewhere across the school yard behind the Church. The town and the plumber say there's nothing that can be done other than to await the spring thaw.

So, I'm willing to give up somethings for Lent but I hadn't considered that it was going to be flush toilets, showers and drinking water.

Please say a prayer for warm weather or some other divine intervention as the thaw is still five or six weeks away from beginning in this part of the north. Either that or perhaps a prayer that I can find a plumber to do SOMETHING to get us water!!

07 March, 2011

As predicted: abortion has become a preferred method of contraception. Why take a pill and play with your hormone levels? An abortion is the answer for far too many. These statistics are telling us that a time when we are beginning to experience a the negative effects of the emerging demographic failures of the past (too many pensioners - not enough younger workers), over 1/3 of all pregnancies in Ontario are ending in the termination of the unborn.

I appreciate than many believe that a woman's right to choose should be completely unrestricted and absolute. I disagree. From my perspective, it is an issue of human rights - the right to life of the unborn. Demographic information such as this only adds to the weight of evidence that there have been unintended and negative consequences for society through the maintenance of the holding of 'choice' over 'life', consequences that must be addressed by both sides in these great debates.

Someway, somehow we all need to find a common moral ground that helps us to come closer as a society to a resolution of this debate before these negative consequences become even worse. It's the demographic equivalent to 'global climate change'. It's becoming the elephant in the room that pro-choice advocates are failing to acknowledge the population consequences of their 'successes'.

A sign of the times. Kind of gives new meaning to ambulance chasers, eh? When world wide, the Roman Catholic churches have paid almost 1 billion dollars in settlements, it's staggering to consider how much has flowed into the hands of lawyers. I know that most of these cases are not taken on 'pro-bono' or 'expense only' basis. Victims who have spoken with me say that in Canada, most lawyers charge 20% or more as their fees.

UNDERSTAND THIS PLEASE: I fully support victims in seeking whatever remedy they would want. They have been harmed and are owed appropriate compensation. As confessors, we are taught to require that appropriate compensation be performed by penitents who confess a sin. Why would the Church not be obliged to do the same when they are found to have facilitated (even if unintentionally) the exploitation of innocents and materially cooperated with the crime? No Bishop I know denies this moral obligation. They desire nothing more than to bring peace to broken souls... it is the church's exact reason for existing! My own Bishop +Michael Mulhall made this abundantly clear if reports of a recent public meeting he participated in are correct. Everything he has said and written begin's with an expression of concern for victims. Clearly he is sincere in his conviction.

Yet we constantly hear in the media and throughout out the blogosphere that Bishops are being portrayed as miserly and obstructionist in negotiating settlements. This is a bum rap that is undeserved. As a Bishop of the Church, they have obligations to both the victims and to their flock. They are also responsible as a good shepherd in stewarding a diocese's resources, for they are the accumulated savings of individual donations for a local church. As such, he is morally and canonically bound to respect the responsibility to ensure that the compensation is 'appropriate' so as not to commit an additional injustice to the individual Catholics who contributed to whatever wealth exists.

So, it actually seems to boil down to this: lawyers strive to maximize the size of any settlement, as the larger the prize, the greater their reward. Church leaders are bound to 'appropriately' balance compensation to victims in a manner that provides good stewardship of the donations of over a billion believers.

'Appropriate'. That is a difficult 'place' to be. Balancing different obligations in a manner that will still allow the Church to continue her mission of preaching and teaching and ensure justice done for victims. Add this one to the ever growing list of reasons why I'd never want to be a Bishop!

Pray for Bishops. I do for mine and others every day. They need our help

Perhaps this could be an incentive to quit smoking tobacco for Lent & switch to something else? Nah... probably a bad idea. I'm too old to take a run at being 'rebellious adolescent'. But I know a lot of friends from my early university days that are probably breathing easier in the wake of this report.

EXCUSE ME??? This too could be another sign of the approaching abyss. Folks, there's being progressive. There's being enlightened. And then there's being STUPID!!! If this is allowed, it will rank as one Canada's greatest 'D'Oh' (Homer Simpson) moment in recent memory. Anyone interested in laying down a bet as to whether or not our equally progressive and enlightened courts is going to rule on this one (because you know that eventually the SCC will probably have to rule on the case).

The seven different stories that Allen writes on in this article gives substance to the teachings of the church, and gives lie to those scoundrels who like to foist their maladroit parodies in place of what the church actually teaches and says.

The part about the reform of the clerical penalties that the canon law offers to Bishops to discipline and punish obstinate or criminal priests proves that the church IS NOT using these punishments to 'hide' predator priests from civil authorities. The interview with Cardinal Kasper which demonstrates that ecumenism is alive and well; the efforts of the communications and social justice wings of the church to renew and institute 'best practices' procedures to improve the ability of the church to speak and teach. Taken together Mr, Allen paints a picture of, if not perfection, at least of vitality, renewal and holiness.

02 March, 2011

Hummunna...hummunna! Gotta love that George! As a life time Baltimore Orioles fan, he knows how to throw the hard, up and inside fastball. He also knows how to hit one out of the park as he does with this critique of a recent manifesto issued by German theologians, demanding the church change many (most) of its moral teachings.

Read it and witness to the regard the way he marshals his argument. It's like watching Earl Weaver (RIP) manage a game. Note as well the beauty of the thumping he lays upon these dissident theologians. Just It's fastball, Roman Catholic - American style. What Jim Palmer was to the Orioles, George Weigel is for the Catholic proposition.

“The Catholic Church in the United States is the safest environment for children in the country. Period.”

So says George Weigel, theologian, historian, biographer of Pope John Paul II and media commentator representing what is perceived as being the 'orthodox' voice of today's Roman Catholic Church. Weigel has never been accused of dodging the difficult question facing the Roman Catholic in these challenging times and he didn't disappoint when he recently agreed to share his thoughts on some of the challenges facing contemporary Catholic values and practice.

Joan & George Weigel

(Note from Fr. Tim: In the interest of transparency, let me state up front that I've been privileged to share a friendship that stretches back over 20 years with George. We've spent many a summers evening together on the Quebec side of the Ottawa Valley, usually in the company of our mutual friend, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, (R.I.P). While those conversations maintain the privacy that friends share with each other, his answers today were very much 'on the record'. I thank him for this kindness.)

---------------

TM: From the many books and articles you've published, (putting to the side 'Letters to A Young Catholic') of which work are you most proud of from the perspective of explaining or developing theological issues in a manner that the average Catholic can understand? In your opinion, why is it that the Church has been so ineffective in explaining its theology in the 'lingua franca' of today?

GW: “I like to think that 'Witness to Hope' (1999), 'The End and the Beginning' (2010), and 'The Truth of Catholicism' (2001) all make the Church's teaching accessible to anyone willing to work through an argument. I do think we need more substantive preaching: preaching that breaks open the Scripture in order to unpack the truths the Church proposes. Benedict XVI is in fact a master preacher and catechist, and his Wednesday audience addresses are quite accessible.”

TM: Both Pope John Paul I & II were able to communicate theological teachings through the use of metaphor and analogy which spoke directly to Catholics hearts. The current Holy Father has not yet seemed to be able to connect with Catholics on that same emotional level. Is this due to the personality of Pope Benedict or is it reflective of the Church's difficulty in knowing how to craft an effective communications strategy?

GW: “If he seems less connected, it may well be because the global media simply decided in 2005 that he wasn't going to be much of a story and have followed their own script ever since. He 'connected' brilliantly in the U.K. and Spain last year, and yet got very little North American media attention. It may well be because the global media simply decided in 2005 that he wasn't going to be much of a story and have followed their own script ever since.”

TM: Do you see your role as a 'lay theologian' as an instrument to present Catholic teachings in a more understandable form? Should the Church not be more concerned with the fact that it is not effectively promoting the positions of faith?

GW: “I've never been sure what a "lay theologian" (as distinguished from any other sort of theologian) is. Priests, bishops, and the unordained among the theologically literate ought to be able to "translate" the Church';s teachings into a vocabulary that can be grasped by non-specialists (meaning 98% of the Church and 100% of "the world").”

TM: 'Witness to Hope', your biography of Pope John Paul II is the most comprehensive account of his entire life on the market today. You've book-ended this great work with 'The Final Revolution' (1992), an exposition of his role in the collapse of European Communism, and with 'The End and The Beginning' which sums up his final years and offers a synopsis of the themes of his pontificate. Given the extensive research that the first two works demanded, were you surprised by any information you discovered as you researched your latest book?

GW: 'The End and the Beginning' is the sequel to and completion of the story I told in 'Witness to Hope'. The surprise between the two books was the previously top-secret communist foreign ministry and intelligence agency materials I was given by scholars working in archives in Warsaw, Budapest, and Berlin. That allowed me to revisit the story of John Paul II vs. communism in a dramatic way, for the communists were at war with this man for forty years.

copyright: Stephen Weigel

Photography

TM: Fr. Richard John Neuhaus was a dear friend to both of us. In the latter years of his life, he wrote often of the 'Long Lent' the church was enduring in the wake of the Bishops mishandling of the sex abuse cases in both Canada and the USA. Do you see an end to this period of purification and penance any time soon?

GW: While I certainly understand and share the dismay of people who have left the Church because of the sin and crime of sexual abuse and the failures of bishops to come to grips with this, I have to say that the failures of the people of the Church, including its ordained leaders, are no reason to turn one's back on the Church's Lord, who still lives in the Church. He, too, has been wounded anew by the sins ans crimes of his ministers; but He does not abandon us, and we should not abandon Him, or the Church which is his Body.

There have been important and far-reaching reforms put in place in seminaries and in dioceses that have, in the United States, made the Catholic Church the country's safest environment for children and young people. I expect that is true in Canada as well.

This past Saturday night, I spoke to almost a thousand Catholic university students here in Washington. They certainly didn't seem to think that the Church had lost its credibility or its moral authority.

Crosier & Mitre: symbols of episcopal authority

TM: Recent news out of places like Philadelphia seems to demonstrate that some Bishops are still not getting with the program as regards the sex abuse scandals . Here in Canada we had the revelation that after adopting their protocol, a bishop wrote to Rome to try to hide an offender in the Vatican. How can the Church speak authority on these other moral issues when they have been shown to be delinquent in implementing a publicly announced policy to protect innocents from predator priests?

GW: I'd be far more angry at the Irish hierarchy than at Philadelphia, where there are a lot of ambiguities. As for those thousand kids, many of them were heathens before someone unapologetically offered them friendship with Christ. That's what the Church needs to do. Let me repeat: the Catholic Church in the United States is the safest environment for children in the country. Period.

Now, having said that, I would also say that a grave problem for the twenty-first century Church is to devise a process to remove malfeasant or incompetent bishops when they have manifestly lost the munus regendi, which I would translate here as the capacity to give effective evangelical leadership. That's not as easy as it might sound, because you don't want to hold bishops hostage to, say, the Philadelphia Inquirer or the Boston Globe, but we all know that some episcopal appointments fail, and others should never have been made, and we need a coherent, fair process to address those cases.

TM: In 'Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism', you expressed concern about the dangers of a rising tide of militant Islamism spreading throughout Christian Europe. This concern was expressed both in terms of the respective demographic trends, (Christians declining/Muslims ascending) and in terms of Islamist terrorist attacks from groups like al Qaeda. While it seems that the experiences in western Europe evidences to the truth of these phenomena, do you think that North American societies are going to face the same tension and crises in the near future?

GW: Not in the same way, because the demographics are quite different, Still, the radicalization of elements of the Muslim population in the greater Montreal area, which has led to ugly incidents of anti-Semitism, is surely a cause for worry. So is the political correctness that precludes discussion of these problems, and similar ones in the United States.

TM: What's so different about the demographics here than in Europe? North America seems to follow most European trends. In Canada we see this happening first in Quebec and then eventually spreading through the rest of the country. Are our falling birthrates here not indicative that this same trend has taken root here from across the Atlantic?

GW: “Canada is Europe transplanted, demographically; the U.S. isn't. We have an above-replacement level birth rate and our immigrants are from the same civilizational orbit. The Muslims shouting anti-Semiic slogans in Montreal are not from the same civilizational orbit, and the failure to recognize that (and help them assimilate to the way we do things in an open society) is a function of a lot of p.c. nonsense. We've got what might be termed a parallel problem with some Hispanic immigrants, but the civilizational "gap" isn't as great.”

“When I say ‘sorry,’ ” the archbishop said, “I am in charge. When I ask forgiveness, however, I am no longer in charge. I am in the hands of the others. Only you can forgive me; only God can forgive me.”

It appears as if Archbishop D. Martin of Dublin 'gets it'. Let's pray that all his brother Bishops throughout the entire Church follow his example!